Dr. Tim Summerlin, President
full name: Dr. Charles Timothy Summerlin
birthday: January 12th
hometown: Port Arthur, Texas
alma mater: Yale for my Ph.D and Abilene Christian University
major: English
Visit Office of the President
Welcome to Schreiner, fall 2012 version. We celebrate another record enrollment—our sixth year of the last seven in which enrollment has grown. It was a pleasure to spend time with our freshmen during their Monty Days orientation experience. Along with several others, I was asked to judge the Upcycling projects completed by 16 teams of new students. Given a common set of “trash” materials (cardboard box, string, tape, water bottles), they were asked to fashion a useful object from the materials and create a presentation explaining its use, including a PowerPoint/video element.
The ingenuity, imagination and technical talent of this group is striking! They demonstrated desk organizers, back packs, water filters and even rockets fashioned from their materials and made their case through effective visuals and choreography. The class of 2016 will bring much to Schreiner, clearly.
This year we are delighted to add a Vesalius living and learning community in Trull Residence Hall to our second Honors Program living and learning in Faulkner Hall. Two other freshman learning communities—the Exodus Project exploring the spiritual pilgrimage and ACE for students still choosing their major—also contribute to freshman bonding. Add to those groups a strong pool of new students in intercollegiate athletics looking forward, as we all are, to moving next year to the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference as well as talented musicians and theatrical performers, and you know why we are excited.
Consistent with our commitment to improving the campus each year with the guidance of our master plan, we completed The Commons, including new landscaping, seating, and paving and a memorial wall to house newly fabricated plaques honoring all Schreiner students who have given their lives in military service. We have also initiated our language study consortium, with Ms. Silke Feltz instructing Schreiner students as well as students from three other institutions in German, using a totally new two-way interactional classroom in Logan Library.
We recognize how challenging it is for families to afford a residential college experience and its opportunities for growth of character and intellect. But we also know how important such an education is and how strongly those who experience it affirm its value. That is precisely why Schreiner pays such exceptional attention to balancing its commitment to quality with a close eye to managing cost. Sometimes it means working a little smarter, but frankly that is a trait that benefits any enterprise. We will not change that commitment.
hobbies: reading, music, travel, old movies, gardening
favorite movie: “The Quiet Man”
favorite book: Walker Percy’s “The Moviegoer”
favorite food: lamb shanks with riata sauce